An Exiled Spirit
by acw28
Summary: The Avatar hasn't been seen in nearly 100 years. Rather than waste his and his Uncle's life on the fruitless quest, Zuko instead fakes his death and travels alone throughout the Earth Kingdom. For three years he does what he can to help those affected by the war, until while visiting the Southern Air Temple he intercepts a message, the Avatar is alive and Zuko has a new quest.
1. The Journey Begins

***Updated 3/27/2017 to fix the inscription on Zuko's knife, I have no idea how I screwed that up.***

 **Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with a new story!**

 **So like many of my stories, the idea for this one can be blamed on nostalgia. A day of random YouTube videos leads me to Iroh's segment of "Tales of Ba Sing Se", and of course you can't just watch one of those so I watch the rest of the segments and decide to look up some good Avatar fics, which lead to looking at the crossovers. There I didn't find a story but rather a few plot bunnies posted by Korvon. A few struck my interest, so I combined them to form this story. Also just a small warning, there will be a few time skips in this chapter. Also be sure to vote in the poll on my profile when you're done reading.**

 **So with that, I hope you'll enjoy the first chapter of** _ **An Exiled Spirit**_ **.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, neither the movie or the animated series.**

* * *

With his back to the ancient statues of the Air Nomads, Prince Zuko stared off into the distance with his one good eye. It had been a week since the fateful duel with his father, a week since he'd been banished, a week since he'd been scarred for life. Despite being in the right to defend the lives of the new recruits he's still lost everything; his home, his honor, his friends (although he couldn't exactly blame Mai and Ty Lee as they had to answer to his sister). As these thoughts went through his head, the one person he hadn't lost made themselves known.

"What a lovely view." His Uncle, General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, said as he walked behind his nephew.

Playing the part of the dutiful prince, Zuko stated, "The only view I'm interested in is the Avatar in chains."

Zuko choose to ignore his Uncle's sigh of disappointment as the old man placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder, "You know the Avatar hasn't been seen for over a hundred years, the chances are slim that you would find him here."

"Perhaps," Zuko began as he walked forward, stopping at the edge of the drop off, "but if he's not here we will search the other Air Temples before searching across the rest of the world. No matter what remote place he's held up in we'll find him."

"Prince Zuko, it's only been a week since your banishment. You need to rest and heal." Iroh advised his nephew.

Instead of the biting insult that was expected, Zuko instead said, "The sooner we find the Avatar, the sooner the crew can go back to their lives." Turning to his Uncle, Zuko surprised the man with a quick hug as he said, "Thank you for coming with me Uncle, I know what you had to give up to help me."

The retired general smiled as he returned the hug, "Think nothing of it nephew, it's what families do."

For a brief second Zuko's heart skipped a beat before he corrected himself, muttering, "Family, yeah." Releasing his Uncle, Zuko turned back to the horizon while saying, "It is a nice view. The crew should be done search the rest of the temple by now. Uncle, could you ensure they made it back to the ship while I enjoy the view a bit more?"

Delighted that his nephew was seeing things in a positive light, Iroh said a quick yes before heading back up the stairs. Perhaps the prince was more open minded then he originally thought, perhaps he would soon be able to introduce his nephew to his special friends in the Earth Kingdom. Unfortunately such events would have to wait for another day.

* * *

Once more left alone, Zuko gave one final look back towards his home nation before beginning his plan. Unsheathing the knife his Uncle had gifted to him so long ago, the banished prince once more read the inscription, "Never Give Up Without a Fight." Never before had it seem so hard to live by that phrase. His Uncle was right, it was almost impossible to find the Avatar, assuming he was still alive. Even if he did accomplish his task what reason was there to return to the Fire Nation? To a sister who delighted in seeing his failures? To a father who would burn his 13-year-old son? Despite his best attempts, it was clear to Zuko there was no place for him at the palace. He had resigned himself to a life as a wonderer, but he could not sentence that life to the men who were dragged down with him, especially not his Uncle. Iroh had already lost so much in life, Zuko would not be the one to make him leave the peaceful retirement he deserved.

His mind made up, Zuko grasped his ponytail before cutting it off at the base. The task complete, the exiled prince sheathed the knife before pulling out a letter he'd written the night before and placed both items on the ground where they were sure to be spotted. Just to be sure he also moved a small stone on top of them to ensure the wind wouldn't blow them away.

The hardest part accomplished, at least in his mind, Zuko then set about removing his armor, throwing each piece over the edge into the deep valley below. The last item he removed from his person was the bandage that covered the left half of his now scared face. Before he could loose his nerve, Zuko quickly pulled the bandage away. Although less than pleased that the burn still stung some, the exiled prince was relieved to still have his eyesight in his bad eye, he'd need it in the coming days.

Satisfied that his Uncle wouldn't search for him, Zuko then shimmied his way behind the central statue where he'd stashed a few items last night while the crew were asleep. With great care the teen retrieved his duel Dao swords, a weapon he'd almost mastered some years before but never demonstrated to his father in fear of being punished for learning such a "barbarian" skill. With less care he grabbed the dull red clothes and straw hat that would allow him to easily blend in once he made it to the colonies. Once dressed the boy gave one last glance to the aging ship he'd been provided before setting out to the other side of the island where he had tied off a raft last night. It would be a long trek, hopefully his Uncle wouldn't come to collect him too soon.

* * *

As he made his way through the forest, Zuko began to curse at the fact his royal education didn't cover map reading too heavily. Sure he could chart a route accurately, but he never realized just how vast a difference he would have to cover. He never expected his aimless journey to be easy, but this was ridiculous! At least he'd stayed relatively near a stream, the fish proved to be a semi-regular food source.

Before Zuko could bemoan his situation anymore, he heard something rustling in the underbrush. Turning quickly, he just managed to duck as something orange and white flew above his head. Ordinarily the teen would have turned around to judge whether the mystiques animal was a threat or not, but right now he was more concerned with whatever was chasing the creature. As expected another creature bounded out of the surrounding woods, this one coming up to his hip with a pure black coat, a grey strip down its back, large fore claws, and piercing yellow eyes. A badger wolf if Zuko ever saw one, and a good specimen at that.

Zuko really should have just stepped aside and let the predator go after it's prey. Nature could be cruel in a way, but he'd already learned that lesson, he wasn't a little boy anymore questioning the morality of an animal trying to get a meal. Yet something didn't feel right to the exiled prince, a closer look at the beast revealing it was foaming at the mouth and moved in jerky motions, signs the beast were rabid. Almost before Zuko could decide what to do, the badger wolf lunged forward, only for the teen to quickly draw his knife and jam it between the diseased animal's eyes, a quick end to its suffering. Once the body dropped, Zuko removed his blade, cleaned off the blood and used a quick burst of Firebending to burn the body, not wanting the disease to spread to any scavenger that may stumble upon the corpse.

As he stayed by the body to ensure the blaze didn't get out of control or bring unwanted attention, Zuko felt something rub itself against his shin. Careful not to move too rapidly incase the creature decided to attack, the teen glanced downward and finally saw what the rabid badger wolf had been chasing. The creature had an orange coat with a white underbelly, its paws and tail where a deep black, save for the tip of the tail that was also white. In place of forelegs, the animal had relatively large wings made of a thin skin membrane covered in fur, this strange mix would mean that the animal's walk would probably resemble more of a hop but provide excellent speed an maneuverability in the air. Taking in all the features of the creature, Zuko couldn't believe he was seeing a fox bat, they were said to be incredibly rare, many in the Earth Kingdom never seeing one in their lives, and yet this one was rubbing against his leg like they were life long friends.

As the body of the badger wolf finished burning out, Zuko softly pushed the fox bat away with his leg, only for the animal to walk back and nuzzle against the limb. Zuko repeated the process again and again, achieving the same result every time. Finally the exiled prince tried to reason with the animal, "You don't want to be near me, I just end up bring trouble where ever I go." In response the animal just continued its own actions as well as begin to purr. Knowing he wasn't going to win this argument against nature, Zuko sighed before saying, "Fine, you can follow me but don't expect any handouts." Zuko was unprepared for the animal to suddenly jump onto his shoulders, but his years of training allowed him to keep his balance.

As the fox bat nuzzled against his unscarred cheek, Zuko finally got a look at its eyes and was once more surprised. "Purple eyes? That's pretty uncommon." The boy mussed to himself before continuing the thought, "They aren't quite lilac, more of a violet really." The animal seemed to perk up at one of those words. "Violet? Do you like that?" Zuko asked the animal, which he could now see was a vixen. In response the fox bat licked his cheek. Resisting the urge to smile, the teen instead scratched his new companion behind the ears as he continued his journey.

* * *

It was another three days before Zuko and Violet reached the colony. Despite being one of the first colonies, this one had remained small. Already getting looks for having Violet resting on his shoulders, Zuko was sure to keep the brim of his hat low, it wouldn't bowed well for him if some distant relative of Ty Lee saw a boy with a large scar and have word spread back to the Fire Nation.

A quick glance around showed that most of the colonies upper class where at least descended from the original colonists while the rest of the population seemed to be Earth Kingdom folks. This actually turned out to be a stroke of luck for the teen as he made his way to a tailor. Seeing the casher asleep, Zuko cleared his throat to get his attention. After the man flailed around for a second, he turned to the boy and asked, "How may I help you?"

"How much would it cost me to exchange my clothes for something green?" Zuko asked, knowing he needed to blend in better for his travels and not having the luxury of carrying something extra.

"Two silvers." The man said with disinterest until his eyes fell on Violet. "If you're short on cash I know of a few people who would gladly trade for your little friend there."

As the fox bat growled, Zuko put one hand around her chest protectively while the other dug in his wallet for the allotted coins. Placing the metal on the counter with a bit more force than necessary, the teen stated, "She's not for sale."

The man accepted the answer, although there was a hint of wanting in his eyes as he collected the money. He then jerked his thumb to the store's general selection as he said, "Find something that fits and leave your old stuff in the changing room."

It only took Zuko a few minutes to find simple green shirt and a pair of brown pants that fit reasonably well. Once more out in town, the exiled prince looked over his map as he planned his next move. From local gossip it sounded like he should head to the city of Ba Sing See, he wouldn't need to fear being recognized so far away from his homeland and apparently refugees were always welcomed, but he was a bit hesitant on what would happen to Violet once the pair were in the city. Maybe Omashu would be a better choice, it was a bit harder to get in but tended to be more accepting if rumors were to be believed. Either way he'd need to head East.

As the internal debate continued, a commotion brought Zuko's attention back to the outside world. A man wearing green was on his knees before a Fire Nation soldier, the lack of a faceplate signifying his status as an Officer. From the distance the teen couldn't hear the conversation, but he did see the Officer laugh with a few other soldiers before sending a fire blast in front of the poor man before walking off while casually folding and unfolding an elegant hand fan.

The situation only served to make Zuko scowl. Aside from the waste of life, this was why the prince hated war, were a few men got it in their heads they were better than those around them and used their position to abuse the common folk. There was no honor in this, it was just being a bully. As he made a point to walk away in the opposite direction, Zuko caught Violet glancing at him. "Don't look at me like that." He ordered. When his companion didn't comply, Zuko continued, "If I did anything it'd just draw unwanted attention."

As he continued walking his gaze chanced upon a stall selling masks. He was slightly surprised to see a mask he recognized from his summers on Ember Island, and an idea formed in his mind. "Maybe I couldn't do anything then, but that's not to say I can't do anything later." While the shopkeeper's back was turned, Zuko quickly swiped the mask off the display, being sure to leave a few silvers that should more than cover the cost.

As he walked away from the crowd, Zuko stared down at the mask he held in his hands. The blue wood had its eyes outlined with white circles, a single white eye brow stretched across most of the item. The nose was also painted white while painted on features suggested a large white mustache. The teeth of the mask were white while two fangs poked out from the ends of the top row. Finally, a white crown and rectangular "ears" gave the rather poor impression of a dragon. It was a common enough mask for street festivals and holidays, but Zuko had a feeling after tonight it would become rather scarce.

* * *

In the dead of night, Zuko jumped from roof to roof. For what he had in mind he'd left most of his supplies outside of town, trusting Violet to guard them. Right now he just wore he black clothes, his duel Dao on his back, his knife on is hip, and the mask on his face. As he made his way closer to the Fire Nation barracks, the exiled prince couldn't help but think of how his need for privacy in the palace had helped him out in life, after all if you wanted to avoid Azula you needed to be a master of sneaking.

Settling in a tree, the teen waited for the two sentries on the outer wall to pass by one another before giving a quick jump, landing behind both men, and then jumping down to the roof below. Most people would consider it lucky that Zuko landed on the Officer's quarters, the teen just called it careful planning. Silently making his way down to the edge of the roof, the boy grabbed the edge before dropping down, shimming along until he found an open window. Swinging himself into the room, Zuko was relieved to see that he had gotten lucky as his prize was sitting on the desk. Yet his luck soon ran out as the door opened, revealing the Officer from earlier that day.

The man had a look of shock for a split second before he spoke up. "Well what do we have here, a little thief?" Zuko didn't respond, too preoccupied with thinking of a solution as the room was too small to effectively use his swords. Perhaps thinking the teen was being disrespectful with his silence, the Officer asked, "Do you know what happens to the puma goat that tries to steal a komodo chicken? It gets punished!" As the finished his statement, the man punched the air in front of him, launching a fireball at the intruder.

Zuko reacted calmly, bending backwards to allow the fireball to sail over him. Before the Officer could prepare another attack, the teen quickly straightened up and rushed forward, grabbing the limb that had launched the projectile and roughly pulling it behind the man's back. As the man grunted in pain, Zuko quickly swatted off his helmet and delivered a single chop to his temple, knocking the man out before he had the chance to call for help. As his opponent collapsed in a heap on the ground, Zuko quickly grabbed the hand fan and jumped out the window, not wanting to encounter any more surprise.

It was quick work scaling the perimeter wall and getting back into town, it took longer than Zuko cared to admit to track down the man he'd seen earlier that day. Once he finally found him walking down a deserted ally, Zuko released a sharp whistle to gain the man's attention. At seeing the masked teen with weapons, the poor man stumbled backwards and was about to run until Zuko threw the hand fan to him. Barely making the catch, the man stared in wonder at the priceless family treasure that had been stolen earlier that day. He hardly heard Zuko say, "You should keep that hidden or leave town." before the boy disappeared back into the shadows.

His mission done, Zuko quickly made his way back to Violet and his supplies. As he slipped on his green clothes, put his swords on his hip, and stashed his mask in his travel bag, Zuko was unaware that he'd inspired a new legend. For months to come the civilians would praise the name of their silent defender while Fire Nation soldiers would bitterly curse the one who had made fools of them. Soon wanted posters were produced in the hopes that some bounty hunter would catch the Fire Nation's newest nuisance, the Blue Spirit.

* * *

As Zuko wondered around through the woods, he couldn't help but wonder once more where he was. In the two and a half years since he began his travels it almost seemed like he'd walked from one end of the continent to the other, but he wouldn't know it as he lost his map after a raid on a bandit camp. All he knew was that he was close to the Si Wong Desert but not having the necessary supplies choose to skirt around the sand so he kept to the forests and hills. Despite the misfortune of being lost, Zuko still counted himself lucky Violet choose to stick with him.

Neither Zuko or Violet had changed much over the years, the only difference being a few extra inches in height and Zuko's hair regrowing as he'd stopped shaving his head. Finally after what seemed like hours the pair found a road, which Zuko followed up a rather large hill, perhaps it was more of a small mountain really. Once he reached the crest of whatever he was climbing, he was able to look down into the deep valley below, which sported a few prairies, some rather large rock spikes, and a large town.

"What do you say Vi? Should we head into town?" Zuko asked as he scratched his companion's chin, smiling as he received a series of happy yelps in response.

It took Zuko the rest of the day to walk into town. Honestly, the exiled prince could say he was impressed. The buildings were of top quality and the roads were actually paved with stone instead of being allowed to stay in their natural dirt state. The people also seemed happy, and everyone was dressed in fine clothes that suggested they had a bit of money saved up. 'It's almost as if the war never happened.' Zuko mussed to himself before he heard something crash. Curious, the teen stopped just short of an ally before a body flew out of it. Zuko was slightly concerned, until he heard the man groaning. Now intrigued, the exiled prince rounded the corner and was surprised at what he saw.

Standing in the center of eleven nine men was what appeared to be an eleven year old girl. wearing a white and green dress. She was light skinned with her black hair in a rather large bun; however the feature that drew Zuko's attention were the girl's white eyes, indicators of blindness.

Even if she was disabled, the girl certainly didn't act like it as she stood in a strange stance that Zuko hadn't seen before. He soon got his explanation why as one of the men tried to attack the girl from behind, only for her to lift a foot before slamming it down, a small wall of Earth popping up under the man's foot, causing him to loose balance and preform a split. The girl didn't waste the opportunity as she struck her arm forward against the earthen wall, propelling both it and the man out of the ally.

Seeing enough, Zuko made himself known as he said, "Where I'm from it isn't considered very nice to gang up against someone, especially a little girl."

Instead of being intimidated, the men just laughed before one asked, "And what are you going to do about it little man?"

In response Zuko stepped forward and was going to draw his knife only to mentally curse himself for once more forgetting he'd given it away a little over a year ago after that one night, that girl did need it more than he did. Not breaking his stride to alert the men of his slight mistake, Zuko reached behind his back to draw his swords. While everyone had their eyes on the blade, the teen allowed his grip to loosen on one of the Dao as he tossed it up into the air, providing a distraction as he rushed forward and slammed pommel into the temple of the nearest man. As his opponent collapsed, Zuko caught the air born blade with his free hand. With everyone's attention on him, the boy asked, "Whose next?"

Unsurprisingly the men collected their fallen comrades before rushing away, leaving Zuko, Violet, and the girl alone. Huffing, the girl said, "I had that under control."

"Clearly," Zuko said with sincerity, "but I thought it best to finish the fight as soon as possible. Shouldn't you be at home?"

The girl seemed to want to Earthbend Zuko away, but instead fired back, "I could ask the same about you Sparky."

"Sparky?" Zuko asked about the nickname.

The girl shrugged her shoulders before saying, "You haven't given me your name and your feet feels hotter on the ground than everyone else."

Quickly understanding, the teen stated, "You see with Earthbending, you sense the vibrations of from the ground."

The girl actually looked impressed as she said, "Wow Sparky, you actually are smarter than you look." The teen had to resist the urge to growl as Violet jumped off his shoulders and walked over to the girl. "Who's your friend? I don't think I've ever seen anything like her." the girl asked as she bent down to pet the animal.

"She's a fox bat, her name's Violet after the color of her eyes." As the girl continued to pamper his companion, Zuko asked, "Could I get your name?"

After a moment of silence, the girl replied, "Toph."

"Well Toph, don't you think your parents are worried about you?" Hesitantly, Toph gave a nodded, "Don't you think it's time for you to go home?" In response, the girl shrugged her shoulders. "Well come on then." Zuko stated as he held out his hand. When Toph raised an eyebrow, Zuko explained, "I'm guessing you don't want everyone to know you can "see."

Hesitantly, Toph accepted the outstretched hand. As the pair started walking away, Violet jumped onto the girl's shoulders while Zuko asked, "What town am I in anyway? I lost my map sometime ago."

"Gaoling," Toph replied as she lead Zuko through the winding streets, "although soon we'll be outside the village."

* * *

The pair walked until dusk until Zuko saw a large estate. On the gates was a painting of a winged boar while outside the compound, with a number of guards dressed similarly to Earth Kingdom soldiers, save that their uniforms had white tunics instead of tan. Standing by the guards was a man with a small mustache dressed in a fine kimono, beside him was a woman with her dark hair in a bun wearing an equally fine kimono and a number of expensive jewelry. As Zuko drew close, he heard the man's orders, "I don't care how long it takes, find my daughter!"

"Dad!" Toph yelled as she waved her free hand, "I'm over here."

Instantly the guards bolted into action, surrounding Zuko while the one in charge stated, "I don't know who you are stranger, but I suggest you let go of the girl."

Thankfully before anyone attacked, Toph spoke up, "Wait, he didn't do anything. He stopped some men from hurting me and helped me get back home."

"Is this true?" Toph's father asked Zuko, to which the teen nodded. "Then I suppose we should thank this young man and invite him to dinner." Zuko was about to protest, until his stomach made itself known.

* * *

The silence in the dining room was unnerving. With the large garden, numerous paintings, and fine silverware, it soon became apparent Toph was from a wealth family. This finery extended to the food which was expertly cooked, although Zuko thought it to be a little bland. Almost as if reading his mind, his host asked, "And how are you enjoying the food, Lee was it?"

"It's alright," Zuko replied as he ate another mouthful of rice, "just use to a little more spice."

"I suppose that's true," Toph's father said, "from what I hear a plethora of spices are used for cooking in the Fire Nation."

Instantly Zuko froze, his eyes searching the room for a possible escape. Not seeing the use in denying the accusation, the teen instead asked, "How did you know?"

Calmly taking a sip from his cup, Toph's father began, "We may not be affected by the war directly outside of some taxes, but due to my influence we still hear some of the bigger events of the conflict, such as how the exiled prince threw himself off the cliffs of the Western Air Temple. So I ask you, Prince Zuko, what is your aim in faking your death?"

"If you feel I have some malicious intention, you are mistaken." Zuko calmly replied, "But to answer your question, I did it for my Uncle. He's lost so much in such a short amount of time, I would not be the cause of him losing his homeland. Aside from that, I've taken this as a unique opportunity."

"And that would be?" Toph asked, curious.

"This war has affected so many lives," Zuko said, "but so few people actually see that. I've witnessed soldiers on both sides of this conflict use their positions to bully whoever they want, I've seen families uprooted from their homes, I've seen scared teenagers forced into a fight they don't understand. But I've also seen so many other things." Now knowing he wouldn't be thrown out immediately, Zuko took a second to have a bit of meat before continuing, "Something my Uncle told me was that in times of great sorrow there is also great compassion. This is just as true with the war. I won't say it was right for my Great-Grandfather to start his colonies, but I've seen the people there intermingle both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom cultures into something new, I've seen soldiers showing mercy and respect to those they've captured, and amazingly I've seen men from both sides throw down their weapons to help the common folk."

"Well that is certainly amazing," Toph's mom said after a brief silence, "but what do you intend to do?"

"First, I'm going to make my way to the Southern Air Temple and ask the spirits of the monks for forgiveness for what my family has done." Zuko replied, "Afterwards I'll travel around helping wherever I can."

"That is certainly admirable, and you're welcome to spend the night." Toph's father said before turning his attention to his daughter, "As for you, we shall have a serious talk about slipping away from your guards, again."

"I apologize if I'm overstepping my boundaries," Zuko started to say, "but I don't think your daughter would sneak away so much if you let her outside your compound every now and again."

Clearly angered, but holding it in, the man asked, "And what do you know of parenting, Prince Zuko?"

"Nothing," the teen freely admitted, "but I'm more than aware of how it feels to have controlling parents." he finished while subtly pointing to his scar. While this statement took the wind out of the man's sails, Zuko could still see his hesitation. "If it makes you feel any better, if you let Toph out tonight I'll keep an eye on her, I'll even have Violet stay here so you know we'll come back."

The room was silent for several moments while the man debated his options. Finally with a defeated sigh, Toph's father said, "Just bring her home at a reasonable hour."

* * *

After waiting a few minutes for Toph to change out of her dress and into a dark green shirt with a light green tunic along with a large belt, no doubt cloths borrowed from one of the guards, Zuko followed after the girl as they made their way out of the city and towards the side of a mountain. The exiled prince was confused until Toph explained that they were heading to Earth Rumble Five, and underground Earthbending tournament. As they arrived late they missed some of the early matches and were forced to stand near at the back.

As a badger mole was brought in to sweep the stray rocks away, Zuko bent down to ask Toph, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"These fights are rigged, I mean really what Earthbender would loose to a guy burrowing under ground!" Toph replied, although she had a large smile on her face, "Still, it's fun to watch. And it looks like 'The Boulder' just won." Zuko looked up to find the girls words were turn as the muscular man with the back tattoo pranced around the ring in victory as everyone cheered. Zuko was about to tell Toph it was time to leave until a man with long, greasy hair jumped into the ring holding a large bag.

"It appears that The Boulder is victorious. After a feat like that I'll give 500 gold pieces to anyone man enough to defeat him!" the man challenged the crowd.

Grinning, Zuko called out, "I've got a fighter for you! Get ready to feel the wrath of The Blind Bandit!" finishing by pointing to Toph.

While the rest of the crowd whispered about a child taking the challenge, Toph pulled Zuko down to her level, glaring as she whispered, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Like we both don't already know you were going to do the same thing." Zuko challenged, "Your stronger than him, I know it. So get down there and show him what real Earthbending is."

Toph was shocked for a moment at Zuko's faith in her before smirking and launching herself down to the stage. Zuko was too far away to hear the banter between the girl and the large man, but saw how quickly the fight ended, Toph's opponent overextending after launching a boulder at the girl, which she dodged and capitalized by bending a stone into the man's stomach with enough force to launch him into the first row of the seats.

After quickly collecting the money and her new championship built, Toph launched herself back to Zuko who was already walking towards the exit. As the girls fell in step with the teen, she held out the bag of money. Although accepting the gift, Zuko still raised a questioning eyebrow to which Toph said, "I don't really need it, so consider it scouting and management fees."

The teen nodded, accepting the answer before saying, "I know I already asked, but did you enjoy yourself?"

"You bet I did," Toph replied, "and you can bet I'll be back to defend my title." she finished as she proudly knocked on the metal.

* * *

After six more months of travel, Zuko found himself at the Southern Air Temple, only to be disgusted as the area was littered with the bodies of Air Nomads and Fire Nation soldiers, he just considered it lucky he didn't find any children skeletons. Still, there was work to be done. As he finished covering up the latest grave, Zuko wasn't surprised to hear something thump behind him. Putting down his shovel, the teen turned to see Violet eating the remains of a messenger hawk, this one with a red ribbon tied around its foot.

Curious, the boy asked, "What did you bring for me this time Vi?" as he removed the message from the tube on the bird's back. Although long and filled with remarks about his father's excellency, the report only had two things of importance to the teen. First, that insufferable Zhao had somehow gotten promoted to Commander and that the Avatar was discovered.

After rereading the message to be sure of its contents, Zuko spoke aloud, "Well then, it appears there's still some work to do. I don't think the Avatar would like to come home to his temple filled with bodies."

He should also probably change into his Blue Spirit persona, somehow he didn't think an Airbender would be very welcoming to someone from the Fire Nation.

* * *

It had been a rollercoaster of a day for the Avatar gang. While Aang was happy to show his new friends his old home and relive some of his most precious memories he was deeply angered at what the Fire Nation army had done. After Aang entered the Avatar State and had to be calmed down, the trio of the Airbender, the Waterbender Katara and her brother Sokka had fallen into a somber silence. It was hard for Aang to admit that he not only was the Avatar, but also the last of his people. He cheered up a bit when the newly named Momo, a flying lemur, shared some fruit, but something still didn't feel right to him.

The boy's thoughts were broken when Sokka called out from onto of Appa, the six legged flying bison, "Hey Aang, were good to go so let's get a move on before it gets too dark."

Making a quick decision, Aang replied, "Just wait a few more moments, I want to say goodbye to Gyatso."

Sokka was about to voice his disapproval, only to be stopped by a _light_ punch from his sister. Said girl gave Aang a sad smile as she said, "We understand Aang, take all the time you need."

With a nod of thanks, the young Avatar left his friends and retraced his steps back to the old monk's skeleton, however when he arrived he found the remains gone. Panicking, the boy called out to his friends who quickly arrived at the scene. After a brief explanation, Sokka bent down to examine the ground before getting Aang's attention while he pointed to a set of footprints. "These tracks aren't ours." the boy explained, the implication clear.

Quickly the trio followed the trail as it lead to a large mountain ledge. Peaking behind the corner, the group were shocked to see someone dressed completely in black carefully carrying Gyatso's the remains. The three watched as the man placed the skeleton on the ground before removing the monk's necklace. Not willing to allow the stranger to steal the Air Nomad artifact, Aang quickly rushed forward and bent a blast of air that knocked the man to the ground, Katara and Sokka following after him as they got ready for a fight.

Truthfully the group were a bit frightened at seeing the stranger's blue mask. Before anyone could move, the man told Sokka, "Unless you want your face ripped off, I suggest putting your boomerang away."

"And whose going to do that, you?" the teen challenged.

"No, her." The man stated simply while pointing to the snarling fox bat in the tree behind the group. Sokka wisely choose to put his weapon away, the animal instantly growing calmer and flew off the tree and onto the stranger's shoulder.

While the situation was slowly becoming less tense, Aang still had doubts. "Just what were you doing with that…" he couldn't find it in himself to finish the question.

Seeming to know what the Airbender was going to ask, the man pointed to the hole behind him, "I was simply paying my respects, I was going to use the necklace as a grave marker. I apologize if this is not how your people treat the dead, but it's the best I could do." Only know did the group realize how much dirt had been disturbed on the ledge and how many large stones were serving as grave markers.

Before she could stop herself, Katara muttered, "So many monks."

"They weren't all Nomads." The Stranger supplied.

"You buried the Fire Nation!" Sokka accused, shocked someone would treat the evil soldiers so normally.

The group could feel the stranger glare behind his mask as the fox bat once more started snarling at the boy. Calming down his companion by scratching under her chin, the masked man said, "They were men who were forced to follow orders, I'm sure very few found joy in their actions. If we do not respect the dead, how are we expected to be respected when our time comes?" Before Sokka could begin arguing, the man turned back to Aang. Pointing to the remains of Gyatso, he asked, "Where you close to this man?"

Nodding, Aang replied, "He was like a father to me."

"Would you like to help?" Once more Aang nodded. Together the men carefully put the monk in the grave before climbing out. The man was going to use a shovel to fill in the grave, instead Aang used a low powered gust to push the dirt back into place. Once the earth was leveled off, the masked man carried a large rock to the grave which Aang placed the necklace on top of.

After a moment of silence and reflecting on the old monk's life, Aang turned to the stranger and said, "Thank you."

The man just nodded while he said, "It's something that should have been done long ago." He then asked, "When do you plan on battling the Fire Lord?"

"Yeah, about that…" Aang began.

"Aang only knows Airbending, we're on our way to the North Pole to help find him a Waterbending teacher." Katara quickly said.

"Really?" the man asked, the group could tell that he expected more from the Avatar. "Then we better get going, the sooner you master the elements the sooner you can fight the Fire Lord and restore balance."

"And who said you're coming with us?" Sokka demanded.

Before the man could reply, Aang said, "I think what Sokka meant to ask was why do you want to come with us?"

"I've been around the Earth Kingdom," the man said, "I've seen what this war has done to people and I want to help end it as soon as possible."

"Alright," the Airbender said, hearing the sincerity in the man's words, "Well I'm Aang, that's Sokka, she's Katara, the flying lemur is Momo, and Appa is my flying bison back at camp. Could we get your name and your fox bat's?"

"She's Violet," the man stated as he scratched the animal behind the ears, "and you can call me the Blue Spirit."

* * *

 **Well that was a bit longer than I expected it would be.**

 **As you can tell I'm going to be following a lot of the early canon, but I'm setting up for some major changes later on. I really don't have anything other to say other than I hope that everyone enjoyed the first chapter, even if there are a few questions. Questions such as…**

 **Who did Zuko give his knife to?**

 **What will happen when the gang finds out Zuko's from the Fire Nation, and a prince at that?**

 **What trouble will Zhao cause the group?**

 **For the answers to these questions and more, stay tuned for the next chapter of** _ **An Exiled Spirit.**_

 **But for now, I'm acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	2. Secrets and Conflict

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 back with a new chapter of** _ **An Exiled Spirit**_ **!**

 **I feel like I should really work on either the update I've already started for** _ **Deathwing**_ **, but I've been getting such great reviews for this story that it's been kept fresh in my mind and reminded me of a few parts that I really want to write (I can't wait to show you all what I have planned for a certain character) that ultimately caused me to choose to update this first. Fair warning, this is probably going to be a short chapter but let's get on with the show!**

 **One last thing, I've got a poll up on my profile concerning a few story ideas I might start working on shortly. Please take a look and vote.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the work on which this fanfiction is based on.**

* * *

"I don't trust him." Sokka said suddenly from his seat on Appa's saddle. It had been a few days since The Blue Spirit had joined the group and so far the man had kept to himself. Whenever Appa would land for the night each teen had their own routine that each knew about. Sokka would head into the woods to try his hand at hunting, his sister would start setting up the tents since the group never camped anywhere near water, and Aang mostly just goofed off. The Blue Spirit was the only mystery, disappearing with Violet as soon as they touched the ground and not returning even after the sunset, prompting the concerned teens to look for their new "friend" only to find him back at the camp site, a fire already going.

"So he likes a little privacy," Katara commented as she was sewing a large hole in her brother's pants, "I don't see a problem with that."

"I do think it's a little strange," Aang admitted, seemingly siding with Sokka, "but then again I've been frozen for a hundred years, maybe his behavior is normal for where he's from?"

"Or maybe he can hear everything you're saying." The Blue Spirit spoke up from his seat at the other end of Appa's saddle, Violet curled around his neck giving the group a glare. After a few tense moments the swordsman released a sigh before saying, "Look I get it, you don't know me so you don't exactly trust me, but believe me when I tell you I want this war over just as soon as you guys."

"Why exactly is that?" Sokka questioned. "Me and Katara want our home and our father safe, it's Aang's duty to fight, so what's your reason?"

"Once this war is over, I can go home again." The man answered simply, causing yet another awkward silence. Thinking he had a way to cheer everyone up, Aang had Momo climb into his shirt and retrieve some marbles, he then preceded to use Airbending to cause the glass balls to spin in a circle, and become depressed when no one payed attention to him. Once he did have Katara's attention he was about to repeat his trick only for Sokka to start saying something about how men and women are better at different things. Recognizing what was about to happen, the Blue Spirit quickly got up and smacked the back of the younger boy's head.

"Ow!" Sokka yelled as he rubbed his now stinging head, "Just what was that for?"

"Because you were about to make a crab donkey out of yourself, and normally I wouldn't care but I'd rather your sister finishes fixing your pants as soon as possible."

"Oh don't worry," Katara stated as she threw her brother's pants backwards, "I just finished."

"Katara…" her brother began after catching the clothing, pushing his hand through the still large hole in the leg, "these aren't even close to being fixed."

"Then I guess the 'Great Warrior' better pick up sewing." The Blue Spirit remarked, earning a glare from the Water Tribe boy.

"Don't worry too much about it Sokka, were we're going we don't need pants!" Aang cheered as he brought Appa down towards a large island.

* * *

As it turned out Aang had brought Appa down so the group could look at some enormous elephant koi, which the young Airbender intended to ride. After reminding himself that the Avatar was still young and allowed some leeway, Zuko came across another thought. He'd only heard of one place with elephant koi this far south, and he doubted the residents would be so welcoming to the group. A quick glance revealed that the Water Tribe siblings were enamored with Aang's show, and he'd rather not draw attention to the group if they could slip away. As he disappeared into the woods surrounding the bay, the teen caught a few flashed of green and black heading towards the rest of the Avatar's party.

'Oh well,' he thought, 'at least this should shock Sokka.' Knowing that the advancing warriors wouldn't harm anyone (yet), the exiled prince calmly watched as Aang continued to ride the giant fish. Although a little concerned when a giant black fin popped out of the water, Zuko didn't have to intervene as the airbender literally ran across the water and back to shore, Zuko honestly tried not to smile when the monk ran into Sokka.

Although he was too far away to hear any of the conversation, Zuko still had a clear enough view of a number of green figures dropping down from the trees and ambushing the Gaang. Sokka tried to reach for his boomerang, only for one of the other warriors to grab him and throw him backwards to the ground, another grabbed Katara's hood and pulled it further down to obstruct her vision while another grabbed Aang by the shirt and threw him to the ground. Momo tried to defend the teens, only to be caught mid-jump and put into a bag. In short order, the entire group was defeated and bound and blindfolded. The victors then started dragging the group inland, no doubt to their village.

Following behind in the trees, Zuko voiced his thoughts to Violet, "I know they're young, but really they should have done better than that." Violet seemed to agree, if her eye roll was any indication.

* * *

Zuko got to the edge of the village in time to see the rest of the group tied to a large column with a wooden statue of Avatar Kyoshi on top. Before the group was practically the entire village, but it seemed the old man was the leader. The exiled prince also noted the group of warriors from before, which he could now positively identify as the all women Kyoshi Warriors. A plan to rescue the Avatar and company was formulating in his mind as Zuko got close enough to hear Sokka demand that whoever attacked them show themselves, prompting one of the warriors to walk forward and snatch his blindfold off, which only confused Sokka more.

"Who are you?" the teen demanded, "Where are the men who attacked us?"

"There were no men," the apparent leader of the Kyoshi Warriors stated as she stalked in front of Sokka, "We were the ones who ambushed you."

"Wait, there's no way a bunch of girls took us down." Sokka stated with full confidence.

"A bunch of girls, huh?" The warrior challenged as she grabbed a fistful of Sokka's jacket, "looks like the Unagi is going to eat well tonight."

"Wait!" Katara called out in defense of her brother, "He didn't mean it, my brother is just an idiot." That seemed to satisfy the warrior as she let go of Sokka and took her place back in the group.

"I'm sorry," Aang spoke up for the first time, "this is my fault, I just wanted to ride the Elephant Koi."

"A likely story," the village leader declared, "how do we know you aren't just Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi has stayed out of the war and we intend to keep it as such."

Feeling that this had gone on long enough, Zuko finally made his presence known. Dropping down beside the column, the masked teen challenged, "I would think it would be a little difficult for the Fire Nation to recruit the Avatar." Before anyone could challenge his claim, the Blue Spirit used one of his swords cut Aang loose. Seeing what was happening, the Kyoshi Warriors drew their fans and began to advance. Not wanting to fight if he could help it, the Blue Spirit quickly ordered Aang, "Do some airbending!" The young monk complied, launching himself high into the air before gently floating back down, stunning the villagers.

"He really is the Avatar!" the village leader said.

"Yes, I am," Aang declared, "Now check this out!" Once more Aang did his marble trick, only this time receiving a much more enthusiastic reaction with the villagers cheering, one even foaming at the mouth.

Zuko choose to ignore this as he cut Sokka's and Katara's binds. He then turned his attention to the village leader and said, "It's getting late, is there some free space for us to rest for the night?"

"Why of course," the man said. He then seemed to recognize who he was talking to as he added, "And I am deeply sorry for troubling the young Avatar and his friends, especially the Blue Spirit."

"You know him?" Sokka asked.

"Of course," the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors answered, "who doesn't know about the Fire Nations most wanted criminal." She then bowed to Zuko and said, "It is an honor to meet you, my name is Suki."

Zuko returned the bow and said, "Likewise." Now looking closer at her, the exiled prince noted the younger teen was dressed like the other warrior in the dark green and black battle kimono, along with the white face paint and red eye shadow. Although there were two key differences, unlike the rest of the warriors, Suki kept her brown hair short and instead of a plain green headband she wore one with a large gold ornament, not unlike the one decorating the wooden statue. 'Well that's an interesting detail.' The prince noted to himself before the village leader got everyone's attention and began leading the Aang and his friends to where they'd be staying for the night.

* * *

When the morning came, Zuko wasn't surprised to find Aang enjoying the pastries provided for breakfast while Katara tried one with a little trepidation as she wasn't used to such a treat. Momo meanwhile hid under the table and would randomly snatch a snack every few seconds while Sokka sulked in the corner of the room. As he'd arrived late to breakfast, Zuko came into the middle of the conversation when Aang stated that Sokka was always hungry.

"Don't mind him," Katara told her friend, "he's just upset that a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday."

Sokka quickly jumped to his feet to defend himself, "They snuck up on me!"

"Snuck up on you, and then kicked you butt." Katara quickly rebutted. That seemed to only make Sokka angrier as he stalked over to the table and grabbed a few pastries while muttering something about sneak attacks not counting. The rest of what the boy said remained unintelligible as he stalked out of the room.

Zuko only shook his head at the other boy's antics as he sat down at the table himself, Violet resting in her usual place on his shoulder. After giving his companion some dried jerky to eat, the teen made his own selection for breakfast, moving his mask up slightly to eat before returning it to the correct position.

"I don't see what he's angry about." Aang randomly said, "this place is great!"

"I wouldn't get too comfortable, we need to leave soon." Katara stated.

Aang looked like he was about to argue before Zuko spoke up, "She's right, the Fire Nation is hunting you down, no place is going to be safe until we get you to the North Pole."

"Oh I think you guys are worrying too much." Aang countered. "Just look how happy everyone is that I'm here, they're even repainting the old statue."

At hearing this Katara and Zuko exchanged a look before the masked teen stated, "I think this is going to your head."

"What? You guys know me, I'm just a simple monk." Aang tried to counter, but as he leaned out the window a group of girls caught sight of him and started cheering. Instead of going back in, Aang just smiled and basked in the praise, prompting Katara to stick her tongue out and Zuko to roll his eyes.

Not having patience to deal with fangirls, Zuko stood and made his way to the door, calling over his shoulder to Katara, "I'll go make sure your brother doesn't make too big a fool of himself."

* * *

It didn't take long to find Sokka standing outside a house near the edge of the village. The Water Tribe boy saw the masked teen approach, but just gave a nod as the two approached the house, pausing at the door to observe Suki and the other warriors practicing some katas. Sokka then gained a smirk and strutted forward, prompting Zuko to roll his eyes, he could sense a habit forming, before taking off his swords and sitting by the door.

"Hello ladies, sorry to interrupt your dancing but I was hoping to get a work out." The teen said as he stretched his arms.

Suki replied with a smile that automatically put Zuko on edge, "Well this is certainly the place. I'm sorry about yesterday, we were just being careful in protecting our home."

Sokka waved off the words by stating, "It's no problem. Usually I'd hold a grudge, but I guess I can make an exception in your case." Here Zuko really didn't know if Sokka was being sexist or trying to flirt, either way it made the exiled prince cringe.

Suki's smirk never wavered as she said, "I'd hope so, I wouldn't stand a chance against a big strong man such as yourself."

"Don't feel too bad," Sokka continued, oblivious to the sarcasm, "I'm the strongest fighter in my whole village."

"Wow, your whole village," Suki exclaimed in mock shock, "well why don't we have a little spar then? I'm sure I can learn something from you."

Zuko felt the need to hit himself as Sokka's smirk grew. "Alright then," Sokka said before charging forward, trying to deliver a straight fist only for Suki to jab his arm with one of her fans. Sokka winced in pain and took a step back, before charging forward and trying to deliver a round house kick, only for Suki to duck underneath the boy's leg, grab it, and then push Sokka to the floor. To add insult she then unfurled one of her fans and began cooling herself.

"Alright, that's it!" Sokka yelled as he jumped up and tried to deliver a left cross, only for Suki to catch his arm. Rather than redirect the momentum, Suki instead spun twice with the boy until Sokka was sufficiently off balance. She then untied his belt, bent his left arm behind his back and kicked up his right leg before tying the limbs together. To his credit, Sokka managed to hop a few times before falling over.

"Well, that truly was an enlightening experience." Suki commented as she stepped back towards the Kyoshi Warriors. Taking pity on the boy, Zuko went over and untied his limbs and offer a hand up, only for the Water Tribe boy to knock the hand away and get up on his own.

Once Sokka had left the house, Suki turned her attention to the other teen. "And what about you Mister Blue Spirit, would you like a fight as well?"

"Actually I'd like to talk," Zuko stated, before adding, "alone."

Suki contemplated the request for a moment before nodding and addressing the other warriors, "Break for an early lunch and come back for an hour." After a short while the two were alone and Suki asked, "So what is it you want to talk about?" Before Zuko could answer, Violet jumped off his shoulders, stretched, and then flew out the door. Suki raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you going to go after her?"

In response, the masked teen shrugged his shoulders and said, "She is free to come and go as she pleases."

"And if she decides not to come back?" Suki challenged.

"Then I will have enjoyed the time we spent together." Zuko answered without missing a beat. "Now as for what I want to talk to you about, you know Sokka will come back."

"And I'll kick his butt again." Suki responded, prompting Zuko to shake his head.

"He won't be looking for a fight, he'll want you to teach him." Suki opened her mouth to respond, but Zuko didn't give her a chance to speak, "I'm not excusing what he said, but you have to understand this is the first time he's been away from the South Pole. He's a fast learner but this is the first time he's been exposed to the outside world. From what I've heard he's the oldest person back home, the chief's son left to defend the old and the young. A great expectation had been thrusted onto him, such as those put upon the decedents of Avatars."

As the words left the exiled prince's mouth, Suki's eyes grew in shock as she asked, "How did you know?"

In response, the masked teen used his thumb to point to his forehead and said, "I wasn't always the best student, but I remember enough of my lectures to know Avatar Kyoshi passed her headdress onto her daughter, who then continued the tradition with her own daughter, and so on."

"Some tradition," Suki quickly fired back before challenging, "Do you have any idea how shameful it is to be the first descendent of an Avatar in over a hundred years to not be gifted in bending? It took years before I proved myself able to lead my ancestor's legacy, and even then some of the older girls think less of me."

After a moment, Zuko said, "That is rough, but it's also an opportunity to make a name for yourself and not your lineage." As he turned to leave, the teen called over his shoulder, "Remember what I said, not just about Sokka but yourself as well. Also, if my memory serves right there was one weapon Kyoshi had trouble with but was too stubborn to give up, come find me for some tips if you decide to try it as well."

With that, Suki was left alone, to think about the Water Tribe boy and whether she'd be taking _that_ hardly known blade out of the shrine.

* * *

After seeing the Kyoshi warriors practice, Zuko decided it had been a few weeks since he last properly practiced either his sword fighting or his fire bending. Once back in the house the village had provided, Zuko drew his blades and then carefully placed a candle upon the flat of one of his swords. Taking a quick glance around to be sure he was alone, the teen sent a quick flame to the tip of his pointer finger and lit the wick. Allowing the flame on his hand to die, the exiled prince carefully picked up both of his swords before moving through the katas he'd been taught so long ago. As he continued the exercise, Zuko began to move fluidly from one form to the next, passing the lit candle from one blade to the other and back again every few seconds, his calm breathing and concentration not allowing the flame to burn any lower than when he started.

So self-absorbed in his practice was he that Zuko didn't notice when someone else entered the room and began to practice themselves. As he finished and blew out the candle, the teen turned to find Katara kneeling beside a small bowl, her small hand movements causing the water to rise into the air. Upon noticing her masked friend watching her, Katara gave a smile and said, "You seemed so into your practice I figured I should probably do some as well."

Sheathing his blades, Zuko sat on the other side of the bowl and stated, "You're a water bender."

"The last in my village." Katara sadly confirmed before asking, "You seem surprised, why?"

"I've run into a few in the Earth Kingdom. Usually Northern tribe exiles or once who decided to go rogue," Zuko explained, "however they were all men."

Katara opened her mouth to comment on that, only for an orange blur to fly in through the window. As Violet landed on Zuko's shoulders, the teen saw she held something red in her mouth. With a little urging he was able to retrieve the object, only to pale at recognizing the insignia.

"Go find Aang and I'll grab your brother." Zuko quickly ordered as he jumped to his feet.

"What? Why?" the water tribe girl asked.

"Because gossip travels fast and the Fire Nation knows we're here." Zuko answered as he ran to the Kyoshi warrior dojo.

* * *

Finding Sokka in the "traditional Kyoshi warrior armor" would have normally made Zuko laugh, but things were too tense at the moment. After explaining the situation Zuko, Sokka, and Suki quickly devised a strategy. Currently the Southern Water Tribe boy was with the Kyoshi warriors, waiting behind the houses to flank the approaching Fire Nation army while the Blue Spirit sat in the middle of the street. About ten minutes since Violet returned to him, Zuko felt the earth rumble as komodo rhinos approached. The Fire Nation exile wasn't surprised to see three of the beasts with two riders a piece flanked by a half dozen or so fire benders. As expected Commander Zhao, a man with large sideburns and a top knot wearing a uniform denoting his rank, lead the formation.

At seeing the notorious bandit sitting in the middle of the street, the commander smiled and called out, "I thought I was lucky when I heard the Avatar was in this town, but it appears my luck is even greater as I can now capture the Blue Spirit. Now, why don't you come quietly?"

In response Zuko slowly stood up as he drew his dao. Without hesitation, the teen charged forward, Zhao eagerly jumping off his mount to meet the masked thief in the middle of the street, just as planned. While Zuko kept the skilled fire bender occupied, he watched as Sokka and the Kyoshi warriors attacked the remaining troops from the side. Easily the girls used their fans to disarm the spear men before using the weapons to redirect fire blasts.

That was all Zuko allowed himself to observe before turning his full attention to his own fight. Striking out from the left, Zhao dodged the attack before attempting a flaming kick which Zuko redirected with the flat of one of his blades before using the other to smack the leg away. The commander responded by using the momentum to launch a round house kick, which the prince easily leap over. However, this left Zuko open which Zhao capitalized on, landing a heavy right blow on the masked teen's chest.

Zuko skidded backwards on his knees for a few feet before stopping. Now at a distance, Zhao sought to capitalize on his advantage by launching stream after stream of fire at the teen. If he hadn't been a bender, Zuko would have been incineration, but due to some subtle bending of his own the flames barely missed his form. Quickly getting up, Zuko rushed at Zhao forcing the commander to once more dodge the blades. It soon became a contest to see who would make the mistake first, and Zuko won.

When Zhao attempted another fire blast, Zuko leaned low, allowing the fist to pass over his shoulder. Letting his swords drop, the teen quickly grabbed the older man's extended arm before kicking out with his foot, putting the man onto the ground. After delivering a quick kick to the ribs, Zuko backed up a few steps and retrieved his swords as the commander got back to his feet.

"Do you think this will change anything?" The man angrily demanded. "Look around you, by the time this battle is finished this village will be soot on the ground." Unfortunately Zhao was right, several of the building's had caught fire. Although a few Fire Nation soldiers had been knocked out, but just as many Kyoshi warriors had to flee due to their own injuries. "I honestly can't wait for you to fall," Zhao continued as he attempted another strike, only for Zuko to deflect the attack, "pulling that stupid mask off your face will feel almost as good as capturing the Avatar."

As if being summoned, Aang finally appeared at the end of the village, shouting, "Looking for me?"

"The Avatar!" Zhao cried out, having remembered the humiliation the kid had given him back in the South Pole. "Quick men, after him!" The commander ordered, forgetting about his previous opponent, a mistake Zuko quickly made him realize.

With Zhao's back to him, Zuko quickly struck out with his blade, aiming for the center of the man's body. It was due to his years of experience that allowed the commander to dodge the attack, however the blade managed to cut deeply into his side. Rolling away from the Blue Spirit, Zhao held his bleeding side as he glared, Zuko only responded by settling into his stance once more.

From their Zuko's job became much easier as Zhao couldn't extend his left arm too far or suffer great pain. This allowed the teen to easily keep the commander occupied while Sokka and Katara explained the second part of the plan to Aang. Although meeting Zhao a few times at court, Zuko knew the man wanted to keep advancing in rank, therefore he'd be obsessed with capturing the Avatar, so much so he'd leave an easily conquerable village behind to pursue the master of elements. As such Zuko continued distracting Zhao for another five minutes before a flash of orange told him it was time to go.

Landing a quick kick on Zhao's already injured side, Zuko turned and started running. After quickly sheathing his swords, the teen wall jumped between two houses until he got to the roof, then jumped into Appa's saddle as the flying bison began to take off. As expected Zhao ordered his men to retreat back to the ship to continue their pursuit. As Appa began flying to the ocean, Zuko saw how Zhao arrived at Kyoshi island so quickly, his ship was huge, requiring several landing craft to land his forces.

* * *

As Sokka shook out of the Kyoshi armor and began wiping away his face paint, Katara put a hand on Aang's shoulder. "I know it's hard, but running was the best thing. If we stayed the whole place would have been destroyed, but now they have a chance to rebuild."

That might not have been the best thing to say. The Avatar gained a look of determination before jumping off of Appa's head and into the water. Before anyone could ask what they were doing the boy resurfaced, standing onto of the Unagi, a massive black sea snake. Guiding the beast via its whisker-like barbels, Aang pointed the Unagi's head towards the flaming village before stomping his foot at the base of the creature's head, causing a large spray of water to erupt from the beast's throat, putting out all the fires.

His job done, Aang used an air bending enhanced jump to get back to Appa, where he declared, "Yes I know it was reckless." Before the Avatar could say anymore, Zuko noticed movement on Zhao's ship. Apparently the commander had left a large number of fire benders on his ship, now they were quickly getting in formation before moving in sync and launching a large fireball at the fleeing flying bison.

As the other three stared in horror at the approaching attack, Zuko knew that Aang would probably jump and attempt to air bend the fireball away, but it would be cutting things much too close and allow Zhao extra time to get back to his ship and begin the pursuit. Instead of waiting around, the exiled prince did something stupid.

Turning his back to the group, Zuko took a stance not unlike the men down below. Taking a deep breath, the teen then quickly punched forward, releasing his own fire blast. Although smaller, Zuko's attack traveled faster, impacting the center of the opposing fireball, forcing the flames to move, transforming the blast into a ring. As the attack came closer, Zuko bent the flames to maintain this shape as Appa stayed the course, staying safe in the center of the ring as it passed by.

Exhaling deeply, Zuko turned around to the reaction he'd expected. Aang staring in wonder, Katara in fear, and Sokka in anger as he held his club at the masked teen. Through gritted teeth the teen managed, "Get off our bison."

"Sokka," Aang tried to reason with his friend, "he just saved our lives."

"He's Fire Nation! It's part of a plot!" Sokka yelled back.

"A hundred years ago I had friends all over the world, including the Fire Nation." Aang argued back. "Is it really so hard to believe that not everyone from that country is evil."

"Yes, it is." Surprisingly it was Katara who now spoke up, keeping her voice level but with the emotion just barely hidden. "They're the ones who started this war. All anyone has done in the Fire Nation for the past hundred years is fight and hurt people."

"Do you really think you're the only ones who've been hurt by the war?" Zuko challenged. In keeping with the day's theme the teen did another stupid thing, he ripped off his mask. Now everyone saw his amber eyes, but they gasped at seeing the large scar covering his left eye. Pointing to his scar, Zuko began, "I got this when I spoke out against plans for the war, and then I was exiled from my country. That was years ago, I've spent that time walking from one end of the Earth Kingdom to the other, learning just how horrible this war is and trying to right some of the wrongs done by my country!" As he spoke, Zuko's anger slowly bleed into his voice, ending with him yelling by the time he was finished speaking. Taking a few deep breaths, and giving Violet a few quick pats, to calm himself, Zuko dropped to his seat and finished by saying, "If you don't want me traveling with you then fine, I'll leave once we make it to dry land."

The air was silent for a few minutes as the rest of the group processed what the oldest member had said. Aang was in disbelief, unable to comprehend how something so vicious was done to a country's own people. Sokka felt a little guilty, although he would not be the first to admit he was wrong. Katara had a look of sadness before it was replaced by determination. Falling back into her role as a peace keeper, the girl began, "I suppose our past experiences had us rushing to judge you. So far you've done nothing but help us, we're sorry for assuming the worst of you."

Zuko shrugged his shoulders before saying, "You were justified in your belief, the outside world doesn't have the best interactions with people from my nation."

"Still, we're sorry." Aang spoke up. "You don't have to leave if you don't want to."

After a moment of thought, and seeing Sokka giving a reluctant nod, Zuko cracked a smile as he said, "Well it does beat walking everywhere."

The celebration was cut short before it could start when Sokka rudely asked, "Can we at least get your actual name?"

While Katara roughly elbowed her brother in the ribs, Zuko said, "You can call me Lee." It wasn't a lie exactly as he never said it was his name, but still he wasn't ready to share all of himself with these people. There was a lot of trust that needed to be built, on both sides.

* * *

 **And that's the end of chapter two. As I said a pretty short chapter, but one that certainly moved the plot forward.**

 **So the Battle of Kyoshi island happened and some secrets were revealed. As you can tell Zhao is basically taking Zuko's early role in the series. Other than that a few more major changes are in the pipeline for the coming chapter.**

 **With the end of this chapter there are a few questions that are left unanswered, such as…**

 **What weapon were Zuko and Suki talking about?**

 **What other misadventures did Zuko have before meeting up with the Gaang?**

 **When will Zuko tell everyone his full story?**

 **For the answers to these questions and more, stay tuned for the next chapter of** _ **An Exiled Spirit**_ **!**

 **But for now, I'm acw28 saying, "until next update."**


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